24th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A
Perpetual Day of Remembrance, National Safeguarding Sunday
13th September 2026
INTRODUCTION
Good morning/evening. My name is ………. and I would like to wish you a warm welcome to our Mass at Holy Spirit Church, Kurri Kurri/ St Joseph’s, Cessnock/ St Francis Xavier’s Abermain/ St Michael’s, Wollombi
The priest celebrating with us today is Father James / Raphael and assisting him is Deacon Viane.
Today as we, the Church of Maitland-Newcastle, mark the Perpetual Day of Remembrance, we do so in solidarity with the Church throughout Australia as it celebrates National Safeguarding Sunday.
Together, we remember the survivors of abuse in our church, and acknowledge the deep harm caused by the Church.
Today we pray that our remembering will change us and strengthen our commitment to protect children and vulnerable adults within the Church and society.
An Altar Boys Prayer
Our Father who art in Heaven blessed be thy name!
Forgive us Father for our sins and show us the path to your Kingdom.
We thank you, Oh Lord, for our new pope, Leo,
and we pray he is a Pope who listens to all your children, and all his altar boys.
May he show the world he is truly one of your future saints and a pope
we can finally trust and believe.
We pray that he will do the right thing always,
and that he may listen to all his altar boys’ cry for help.
Almighty Father, we thank you, O Lord, for all the good priests we have,
and we pray for the good priests we have lost.
We pray they have become saints in your full vision in your Kingdom.
We pray, Oh Lord, for all the nuns- and God bless them all.
We pray almighty Father for all the altar boys- past, present and future.
We pray especially for the altar boys who were abused, ignored and then forgotten.
We pray for these children who were hurt but never healed.
We pray dear Father for all the victims of child abuse and domestic violence
and we pray for their families and may we all feel their pain.
We pray for the girls who were violated, afraid and not believed or protected.
We thank you almighty God for the people who help victims and survivors of abuse
get Justice and find inner peace in their lives.
We pray and promise you Father we will all do better to help protect
all your creatures and look after our land and protect our children.
We pray, Oh Lord, and ask that you help us to
end poverty and bring world peace.
We beg you dear Father to remove all the evil amongst us
and assure true Justice will always be served.
Dear Almighty Father, us altar boys, your altar boys,
love and worship you and we pay tribute to our
patrons Saint John Berchmans and Saint Michael the Archangel.
We love you Almighty Father and thank you for hearing our prayers.
In the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
November 26th will always be remembered as Saint John Berchman’s and altar boys Day. Bob.
A Survivors Prayer.
Please stand for the Processional hymn
GREETING
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. AMEN
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And with your spirit.
PENITENTIAL ACT
Brothers and sisters,
let us acknowledge our sins,
and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries.
Lord Jesus, you are our hope:
Lord, have mercy.
All: Lord, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you rout the proud of heart and exalt the lowly:
Christ, have mercy.
All: Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you send the rich away empty and fill the hungry with good things:
Lord, have mercy.
All: Lord, have mercy.
May almighty God have mercy on us,
forgive us our sins,
and bring us to everlasting life.
All: Amen.
GLORIA
Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to people of good will.
We praise you,
we bless you,
we adore you,
we glorify you,
we give you thanks for your great glory,
Lord God, heavenly King,
O God, almighty Father.
Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son,
Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father,
you take away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us;
you take away the sins of the world,
receive our prayer;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father,
have mercy on us.
For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father.
Amen.
COLLECT
Let us pray
O God, by whom we are redeemed and receive adoption,
look graciously upon your beloved sons and daughters,
that those who believe in Christ
may receive true freedom
and an everlasting inheritance.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
.
AMEN
LITURGY OF THE WORD
FIRST READING Ezekiel 37:1-14
A reading from the prophet Ezekiel
The hand of the Lord was laid on me, and he carried me away by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley, a valley full of bones. He made me walk up and down among them. There were vast quantities of these bones on the ground the whole length of the valley; and they were quite dried up. He said to me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ I said, ‘You know, Lord.’ He said, ‘Prophesy over these bones. Say, “Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. The Lord says this to these bones: I am now going to make the breath enter you, and you will live. I shall put sinews on you, I shall make flesh grow on you, I shall cover you with skin and give you breath, and you will live; and you will learn that I am the Lord.”’
I prophesied as I had been ordered. While I was prophesying, there was a noise, a sound of clattering; and the bones joined together. I looked, and saw that they were covered with sinews; flesh was growing on them and skin was covering them, but there was no breath in them. He said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man. Say to the breath, “The Lord says this: Come from the four winds, breath; breathe on these dead; let them live!”’ I prophesied as he had ordered me, and the breath entered them; they came to life again and stood up on their feet, a great, an immense army.
Then he said, ‘Son of man, these bones are the whole House of Israel. They keep saying, “Our bones are dried up, our hope has gone; we are as good as dead.” So prophesy. Say to them, “The Lord says this: I am now going to open your graves; I mean to raise you from your graves, my people, and lead you back to the soil of Israel. And you will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and raise you from your graves, my people. And I shall put my spirit in you, and you will live, and I shall resettle you on your own soil; and you will know that I, the Lord, have said and done this it is the Lord who speaks.”’
The Word of the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Ps 41:2-3;.42:3-4. R. see Ps 41:3
Response: My soul is thirsting for the living God.
1. Like the deer that yearns
for running streams,
so my soul is yearning
for you, my God. (R.)
2. My soul is thirsting for God,
the God of my life;
when can I enter and see
the face of God? (R.)
3. O send forth your light and your truth;
let these be my guide.
Let them bring me to your holy mountain
to the place where you dwell. (R.)
4. And I will come to the altar of God,
the God of my joy.
My redeemer, I will thank you on the harp,
O God, my God. (R.)
SECOND READING Romans 14:7-9
A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Romans
The life and death of each of us has its influence on others; if we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord, so that alive or dead we belong to the Lord. This explains why Christ both died and came to life, it was so that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
The Word of the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Alleluia, alleluia!
Shine in the world like bright stars;
you are offering it the world of life.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL Luke 1:46-56
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke
Mary said:
‘My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord
and my spirit exults in God my saviour;
because he has looked upon his lowly handmaid.
Yes, from this day forward all generations will call me blessed,
for the Almighty has done great things for me.
Holy is his name,
and his mercy reaches from age to age for those who fear him.
‘He has shown the power of his arm,
he has routed the proud of heart.
He has pulled down princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly.
The hungry he has filled with good things, the rich sent empty away.
He has come to the help of Israel his servant, mindful of his mercy
– according to the promise he made to our ancestors –
of his mercy to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’
Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back home.
The Gospel of the Lord.
R. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
HOMILY
PROFESSION OF FAITH
I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
I believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins
and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come. AMEN
UNIVERSAL PRAYER – PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL
Presider: Sisters and brothers, let us pray to the God of light and truth for our needs and those of the world.
Commentator
For the gift of wisdom and humility.
God of mercy …
All: Hear our prayer.
For the gift of truth and integrity.
God of mercy …
All: Hear our prayer.
For the gift of love and compassion.
God of mercy …
All: Hear our prayer.
For the gift of courage and forgiveness.
God of mercy …
All: Hear our prayer.
For the gift of acceptance and freedom.
God of mercy …
All: Hear our prayer.
For those who have been affected by abuse.
God of mercy …
All: Hear our prayer.
For those who are sick.
God of mercy …
All: Hear our prayer.
We pray that those who have died will be raised up with Christ and given a place with him in heaven. We pray especially for our recently deceased, including......... and for those whose anniversaries occur about this time, especially …....God of mercy
All: Hear our prayer.
Presider: God of the living and the dead, in Jesus you raise us up to shine your light in the dark places of our world. Hear these prayers and help us to always remember how much we are loved. We ask this through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
PRAYER OVER THE OFFERINGS
O God, who give us the gift of true prayer and of peace,
graciously grant that through this offering,
we may do fitting homage to your divine majesty
and, by partaking of the sacred mystery,
we may be faithfully united in mind and heart.
Through Christ our Lord.
AMEN
The Lord be with you.
And with your spirit.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right and just.
PREFACE
PREFACE I OF SUNDAYS IN ORDINARY TIME
It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,
always and everywhere to give you thanks,
Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God,
through Christ our Lord.
For through his Paschal Mystery,
he accomplished the marvellous deed,
by which he has freed us from the yoke of sin and death,
summoning us to the glory of being now called
a chosen race, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, a people for your own possession,
to proclaim everywhere your mighty works,
for you have called us out of darkness
into your own wonderful light.
And so, with Angels and Archangels,
with Thrones and Dominions,
and with all the hosts and Powers of heaven,
we sing the hymn of your glory,
as without end we acclaim:
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
THE MYSTERY OF FAITH
Save us, Saviour of the world,
for by your Cross and Resurrection
you have set us free.”
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Let us pray
May the working of this heavenly gift, O Lord, we pray,
take possession of our minds and bodies,
so that its effects, and not our own desires,
may always prevail in us.
Through Christ our Lord.
AMEN.
DISMISSAL
Go forth, the Mass is ended.
Thanks be to God.
© The scriptural quotations are taken from the Jerusalem Bible, published and copyright 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton Longman and Todd Ltd and Doubleday & Co Inc, and used by permission of the publishers. The English translation of the Psalm Responses, the Alleluia and Gospel Verses, and the Lenten Gospel Acclamations, and the Titles, Summaries, and Conclusion of the Readings, from the Lectionary for Mass © 1997, 1981, 1968, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. The prayers are from the English Translation of the Roman Missal © 2010 International Committee on English in the Liturgy Inc. (ICEL). All rights reserved.